Rus: Pysanky: Hand-Painted and Decorative Easter Eggs

Historically Easter eggs date back to the earliest beginnings of Christianity. A legend says that Mary Magdalene gave the Emperor Tiberius an egg as an Easter present. In many European pagan countries & cultures, eggs were the symbol of immortality. It was for this reason that Mary Magadalene gave such a present to the emperor. Moved by Mary's story of Christ's resurrection, Emperor Tiberius declared, "Resurrection is as impossible as this egg turning red!" It was at that moment, that the egg he was given turned red, thus proving Mary's story. This story explains the reason behind the people of the Rus exchanging these eggs at Easter.

Pysanky were painted by hand for centuries now they are more often painted by machine rigs, called kistka. Pysanky are first known to have been exchanged in the ancient Kyivian Rus in what is now Kyiv, Ukraine. during the eariest days of the Christian Kyivian Rus period. This tradition rapidly grew in popularity among the aristocracy, the rich merchants, the peasants, quite literally everyone became involved with the tradition.

Time passed and people wanted keep their eggs thus leading to a desire for more permanent eggs. In this way an entire pysanky industry came into existence in middle of the 17th. Century. Wooden eggs were turned on a wood lathe, then painted with icons, Bible scenes & geometric designs by highly skilled master artists. Artists in the Moscow armory produced pieces of art that remain even now as the finest examples of art of egg-painting.

During the reign of the Tsar Peter the Great, more new materials began to appear in Russia. Porcelain & paper-mache eggs were also painted in the traditional method, with scenes of rustic life, geometric designs or simply with scroll-work. Famous masters of Russian lacquer-art in the village of Mystera used this opportuniy to display their skills & their art. Many of them painted porcelain eggs for Tsar Peter's family & other members of the nobility. Many others painted & decorated paper-mache eggs produced in the village. Historically, the price of a pysanky was expensive because the price was an Easter present to the artist.

Pysanky made & painted for the Tsar's family were exchanged between family members & their visitors on Easter Day. Traditionally this required an exchange of declarations of the triumph of Jesus Christ over death. A triple kiss, representing the 3 days of his death, Good Friday, Easter Saturday & the resurrection On Sunday, Easter Day, combined with giving an egg was the customary method used to exchange these works of art.

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